Newcastle retro arcade bar kickstarts local recruitment drive ahead of December launch

Retro arcade bar Four Quarters is expanding its operations to the North East as it prepares to launch an all-new venue in Newcastle City Centre early this December.

Four Quarters made its mark in the south of England with venues in Peckham, Bristol, Hackney Wick and Elephant Park. Now, setting its sights on the North East’s nightlife scene, the retro gaming venue has confirmed a new Dean Street location, with plans to move into the basement and lower ground floor of the former restaurant, Gershwin’s.

The company will be creating upwards of 12 new jobs for the region, with roles including management positions, bar supervisors and kitchen staff soon to be advertised. There will also be opportunities for contractors around the city and surrounding areas.

Four Quarters co-founder, Francois Kitching, commented: “People who come to work for us are going to be proud of the fact that they work for us. They’re going to see it as a place that is inherently different to everywhere else.

“As well as the games, there’ll be a broad selection of craft beers, there’ll be a good cocktail offer, and there’ll be a good standard of product coming over the bar, and hopefully a great experience for everyone who comes through that door. We’ll definitely be looking to recruit locally and we also want to find employees who want to be part of the journey.”

Four Quarters’ Elephant Park venue.

Four Quarters is committed to providing opportunities for growth within the company, which is reflected in the journey of its operations manager, Kacper. Having started out as a glass collector at Four Quarter’s first-ever location, he soon rose up the ranks to become an integral part of the company’s senior leadership.

The opening of Four Quarters has been a “long and involved” process, according to Francois. One that required working closely with all of the city’s stakeholders, including the council, heritage and environment organisations and the police, to ensure the long-vacant building was fit for purpose.

Francois continued: “This particular site has taken a long time from finding it and developing the concept to actually delivering it. There were many challenges, but it is an amazing historic site with a really interesting backstory.

“It’s going to be an exciting space to bring back to life after having been empty for ten years. Now we’ve got the space opened up and we’re going to fill it to the brim with arcade machines.”

Visitors can enjoy themselves on the “lovingly restored” machines, from throwback favourites such as Pac-Man to the more modern likes of Time Crisis 2. There are also several booths with various old school consoles, from the Megadrive and N64 to the beloved PS2.

By Matthew Neville – Correspondent, Bdaily